iSuppli lists top 20 chip firms

Research firm iSuppli released a preliminary list of the top 20 chip firms in 2008. As usual, Intel takes the top spot, followed by Samsung, Texas Instruments, Toshiba and STMicroelectronics. Chip maker AMD ends up at 11 and NVIDIA closes the list at 20. iSupply predicts the revenue of the top 20 chip firms will drop 2.7 percent this year, compared to a 2 percent drop for the total semiconductor sector.

Memory chip manufacturers are some of the hardest hit. South Korea-based Hynix, which dropped from No. 6 to No. 9, and Micron Technology (No. 16) are both restructuring. Micron is reducing staff and shutting down facilities, while Hynix seeks outside investors.

Micron is expected to post a 9.2 percent revenue decrease in 2008 and Hynix's revenue should dive by about 29 percent in 2008, iSuppli said.

The world's largest memory chip supplier and the world's No. 2 chipmaker, Samsung Electronics, is set for a 9.1 percent revenue decline for the year, the market researcher said.

Toshiba, a major flash memory chip manufacturer, is expected to post a 5.9 percent decline in chip revenue in 2008.

iSuppli said 2008 will go down as "a year to forget" for memory chip suppliers.

More info about the business side of the chip firms can be read at CNET.